"... When you've got the world in your hands, it seems like everyone wants you to fail ..."
~ Jamila Velazquez, Raquel Castro and Yani Marin
...♛...
"Do you see them?"
"I do," I reply to Kai on the phone as I spot a group of girls standing outside the door of a room.
"Okay, it's only you from now on," he responds ending the call. I stop, looking down at the blank screen of the phone Kai lent me for this mission only. To my side, is a fake plant so I drop the phone in its vase. I take a deep breath before walking towards the girls.
"You're late," a blonde girl scolds me.
"Sorry," I respond.
"Sorry? And what is this?" not even waiting for a response, she harshly pulls off the long trench coat that covered my body. I watch with puppy eyes as she throws the coat on the ground leaving me in netted, black lingerie like the rest of them.
"Are you new or something?"
"No. Uh- Chloe didn't tell me what we're exactly doing so I'm just confused," I respond.
"Oh, well it's nothing new from the ordinary. We line up, men choose who they want and we give them a lap dance. After, we leave," she finishes off.
"We don't stay?" I question.
"Nope," she responds.
I need to stay for the meeting though.
Fuck.
"We're ready whenever you are," a well dressed man says through the door.
"Okay, just give us a minute," the girl standing next to me says. The man nods and leaves making sure that the door is left open.
"Okay girls. They're paying us a whole lot, so give them the best dance you've ever given and don't screw up," she says the last bit looking at me. I nod in response pulling on the black mask as part of our outfits.
One by one, the girls walk inside. I fit myself in between the line trying to blend in. The room is spacious to say the least. It has a large antique dining table where all the men sit wearing their suits. My eyes linger on every single man until they stop on Nick.
His beady eyes focused on a girl's boobs. For some reason, my heart aches. I'm not sure why, but it does. I decide to ignore it as I take in what he's wearing.
He wears an all black suit matched with a watch on his left wrist. His right cheek bone supports a purple bruise which seems fresh. His clothes for the night remind me of Kai. All black is Kai's thing and it agrees with him more than it does with Nick.
"Gentlemen, before we start today's meeting, I thought I'd bring in a little treat for you all," another man speaks. He has light brown hair with blond highlights. His eyes a lighter shade of green, pop due to his darker complexion. From the looks of it, he might be Zack the owner of this mansion. "Choose who you want."
"Her," a fat man spoke without hesitation. I watch as the girl walks over to him trying to hide her disgust at the same time.
I try to hide my smile by looking down at the ground, but even then, it's hard for me to control my amusement. Poor girl, I wonder how she does it.
"I want her," my head snaps up at the known voice. Instantly, our eyes meet and I'm left speechless.
"You," he says again, snapping me out of my surprise. Without even a single thought, my feet start to move. I walk slowly around the end of the table and towards him. Many of the other men support frowns as I stand in front of Nick.
"Look at me," he demands. Building the courage, my head tilts up. The voices of the men choosing their girls is zoned out of my hearing as Nick's eyes scout every inch of my body.
"Come here," he says setting his hand flat on his thigh. Gulping, I take a seat on his lap. His hand on the small of my back, I close my eyes reassuring myself that it's okay.
"Why does it look like you've seen a ghost?" he asks.
"I'm new," I reply softly.
His lips stretch on a smile exposing his polished teeth.
"Maybe I should trade you for someone else, everyone hates me for choosing the girl with the perfect body. I was hoping it came with the perfect dance too."
I laugh.
"Your choice, but I've heard someone say: what's the point of getting something if you won't even taste it once."
His eyes lighten in surprise remembering that he, himself had said that to a young girl before.
"Do we know each other?"
Before I can respond, Zack starts talking.
"Let the dancing begin."
I look back at Nick with a grin on my face as I climb off his lap. The music starts and slowly increases its volume. Partition by Beyonce plays as all the girls start dancing.
Come on, Summer. You can do this.
One deep breath and I let go of everything. The stress, the thoughts and all control over my body is lost. I let my body seductively sway to the beat of the music.
Driver roll up the partition please. Driver roll up the partition please. I don't need you seeing Beyonce on her knees – Beyonce sings.
Show him what he lost, Summer.
I confidently walk towards Nick. My arms gently swing beside me as I hold my head up high with perfect posture. One step after the other, I lead with my chest until I'm right in front of him.
I straddle him. My eyes, most likely full of mischief, I bite down on my lip in a sexual manner. He could never resist a lip bite especially if it's done on purpose. The perfect lyric comes in play, so I start to sing.
"Took 45 minutes to get all dressed up. We ain't even gonna make it to this club. Now my mascara runnin', red lipstick smudged. Oh he so horny, yeah he want to fuck. He popped all my buttons and he ripped my blouse. He Monica Luwinski'd all on my gown-" my ass grinds against his hard erection teasingly. My lips linger on his neck trying to drive him crazy.
Losing his self control, one of his hands places itself at the small of my back while the other finds a grip in my hair. He pulls my head back and I watch his eyes darken as his pupils dilate.
"Fuck," he groans as he kisses my collarbone. His lips are harsh as always making me remember the things I've always tried to forget.
It's just a lap dance, Summer.
Nothing else.
With all my strength, I find his shoulders and roughly push him against his chair. My eyes hard, I hide the anger with a smirk.
"Uh-uh," I scold. "It's suppose to be all me."
I hear the crunch of his teeth as they grind against each other. His hands form fists on his thighs holding back from touching me.
"-private show with the music blastin' he like to call me peaches when we get this nasty red wine drip filth talk that-," my eyes trail towards the man next to us who has his eyes glued to me,"- trash chauffeur eavesdropping tryin' not to crash oh, there daddy, daddy now you ripped my fur oh, baby, baby be sweatin' on my hair-"
My hands feel over his chest as they slip under his jacket and inside his pocket. Knowing that I'd find a cigarette and a lighter, I pull them both out.
I sit up and sing as I light the cigarette," - took 45 minutes to get all dressed up and we ain't even gonna make it to this club."
I inhale and exhale the smoke towards his face. Kai's eyes close as he takes in the smell. When I inhale again, I close my eyes as memories of yesterday and a night I seemed to had forgotten run through my mind. When I open my eyes, I spot Nick with his eyes staring deeply at me.
"That's not good. Maybe you should do something about that," I comment climbing off his lap making the bulge in his pants clear in sight.
"Okay!" Zack clears his throat. I watch as he fixes his tie flustered by the lap dance he had gotten, "Thank you, girls for giving us your time, you may now leave."
Helplessly, I walk past Nick to leave, but he stops me.
"No, you stay," he demands. I look up into his grey eyes. There's nothing in them that reveals why he stopped me. I look at the blonde girl I talked to earlier, she scowls at me.
"Are you sure?" Zack asks.
"I am," Nick responds.
"Okay then," Zack says. I pull my wrist out of Nick's hold and start to walk out.
"It wasn't an option, Sweetheart," Nick stops me again. I turn around showing fake anger.
"I don't even know what this is about, I came here to do my job and now, it's done. I have the right to leave," I respond. Nick gets up and walks over to me.
"Here, you have no rights. Unless you want to be fucked every which way, I suggest you park your pretty little ass on the empty seat over there," his head nods to the empty chair at the end of the table.
Holding back from a smile, I respond, "Whatever."
I start making my way to the empty chair.
"Wait," Nick stops me. I turn around and watch as he pulls of his jacket. His hand extends out.
My eyebrows knit in confusion, "I'm good."
"I know you are, but I don't think the rest of us will get any business done with you practically naked at the table," he says. I sigh grabbing the jacket from him. I wrap it around myself. The jacket is enormous, but covers me well, so I'm quite thankful.
I make my way to the seat.
"What? No thank you?"
"I don't remember getting a thank you so... nope," I reply sheepishly.
With a smile on my face, I take a seat on the empty chair. Nick takes a seat on his previous spot and we all turn our attention to Zack.
"Since that's settled, we'll get started now. This meeting was called by Nicholas Black so I'll let him do the honours," Zack takes a seat while Nick gets up from his. We all watch as he walks behind his chair and starts to walk around.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you once again. I remember that the last time we all met was when my younger and ignorant brother declared war. Since then, there have been over twenty three hundred crossfire victims. Clueless about all of this, yet they died out of the hands of our men. Just like the rest of you, I think the same thing, it's completely normal, but the FBI is catching on, and quick. Just a few days ago, a friend of mine in Kansas was taken under arrest because he was too foolish to play a little more safer. Getting to the point, I'm offering everyone at this meeting an alliance. I already have more states in my control than anyone else, and it's clear I'll do anything to get them all. This way everything is cleaner and I'll let you run the state on your own with weekly reports coming my way."
"What about finances?" another man asks.
"I'll give you forty percent of everything you earn, the rest I keep to expand businesses outside of the states," Nick replies.
"And how do you say we'll deal with the FBI?"
"We don't. We keep everything down for the next two years. Let the FBI think we're done and let them carry on with projects regarding the mafia."
"Some of us our allied with mafia's. They'll kill all of us if they find out we've ratted them out," someone mentions.
"Who's going to tell them? It's the twenty of us on this table and I'm sure we all love our lives dearly," Nick threatens.
The air thickens as nervousness builds up.
"No, we're not going to ally with you."
"Oh, and why is that?"
"You're a scum Nicholas Black. As much as I like playing the game, I can't play it alongside you. It's only at the end when you turn your back against the people that supported you, will they realize what mistake they made. I won't be one of them," the man across from me stands up.
"It'll be nice playing against you," he says.
"It was nice playing against me," Nick corrects. Not a second passes by, before he pulls out his gun shooting the man.
The screeches of everyone's chair echoes in the large room as everyone gets up. All the men reach for their guns. I watch as everyone's hand comes out empty. Our faces pale in fright.
"I knew this meeting wasn't going to go as planned, it was just an odd feeling, but hey, I'll be the leader of nineteen more states after this," no hesitation, he shoots every single standing man in the room.
In the end, the gun is pointed my way. His face displays an amused smile at my shock.
"Take a seat, Sweetheart. I'm not going to kill you, not yet."
Nick tucks the gun under his belt. He walks around the table taking a seat across from me. I watch curiously.
"Take a seat, I won't tell you again."
Gulping, I feel around for the chair behind me and pull it close until I'm seated down. My hands intertwine resting on the table in between Nick and I.
"You can take off the mask, I already know who you are." I don't respond. He sighs, "You're the girl that came to the gang ball with my brother."
I nod taking off my mask.
"Still beautiful," he comments. "I don't think I caught your name last time."
"Let's hope you never do. Can we continue on with this? I mean, you've already wasted my time with this charade of yours," I speak confidently.
"Clearly, I don't care who gets hurt as I rise to gain my power. You tell my brother that he'll be one of these men lying coldly on the ground if he doesn't come to his senses and surrenders."
"So that's it, you want me to become a messenger? What if I told you I don't work for your brother?"
"I'd say you're lying. Why else go through so much trouble to get in here. You kidnapped one of my girls so you could replace yourself with her. Do you really think I wouldn't find out?"
"And what if I said, that you took something from me and I wanted it back?"
"Then I'd ask what I took," he says.
"Something that can never be given back, Nicholas Black," tears fill my eyes at the thought of the six months I was forced to spend with him. "You have enemies that you didn't even know existed, so I'll warn you now, stop creating new ones."
I slide my chair back and take off his jacket. I chuck it onto the table, "That jacket will be the only expensive thing you'll own the day I'm done with you. Cherish it."
With that, I walk away.
"So you're just going to turn your back to me? You know, I could shoot you and you wouldn't even know what hit you."
"Tell me, when was I ever with you and why haven't you already?" I wait for a response, but we both know I won't get one. "We'll meet again, Nick. I promise you that."
...♛...
"What happened in the room, Summer?" Cole asks as I walk into our apartment. The moment I left the room, I made my way to our car.
Since then, I've only spoken five words.
I want to go home.
I'm not sure if that meant the apartment or my the house I was born in, but here I am in the apartment. I don't seem to be complaining.
"Summer," Alec lightly grabs my wrist and turns me around. "What happened in the room?"
I look at him with no emotion. I'm feeling overwhelmed. Everything that just happened, did it actually happen or was it all just a dream?
"Is that blood?" Alec looks at the palm of his hand and at my arm which is splattered with blood. It must belong to the man that sat beside me. I didn't even notice it got on me before.
"Summer, I won't ask again," Alec threatens.
I close my eyes trying to clear my mind of all thoughts.
"I want to talk to Kai, alone."
I open my eyes and spot Kai leaning against the wall behind Alec.
"Okay, thirty minutes," Alec says. I watch as Cole and Alec walk out the apartment.
Kai stands up from the wall. His eyes stay at my face. I know he wants to get a glimpse of my body so why is was he holding back?
"You're shaking," he says. I follow his eyes down to my own hands. Undoubtedly, they're trembling. "Get cleaned up, I'll cook us something to eat."
"Something toxic would nice," I respond.
"You've already had enough toxins in you for one night," Kai says as he walks past me into the kitchen.
...♛...
"I'm not hungry," I say after ten minutes of poking around at the food on my plate. The corn, carrots, chicken and rice all seem delicious, but my appetite is lost.
"You haven't had anything to eat all day," Kai points out.
"I know, but I'm not hungry," I tell him. I push the plate away from myself.
"Okay, where do you wanna talk about this?"
"In the living room," I reply. I get up and walk outside impatiently. Taking a seat on the couch, I wait for Kai.
He enters two minutes later taking a seat on the other end of the sofa.
"He killed them all without hesitation. Nineteen men versus him, and he came out alive."
"What offer did he put up?" I look up bewildered by how Kai knew Nick had put up an offer. "It's a thing he always does, Summer. I'm his brother, I know how he works."
"Right," I murmur looking down at my lap. "He offered an alliance. The FBI is keen on ending everyone and everything gang related. He wanted them all to ally, ending the gang war and put all business on hold for two years. This way the FBI would go easy on the gangs and take up more work related with mafia putting them at the centre of attention."
"And the same offer stands for me?" he questions.
"Yes, it does."
"What do you think I should do?"
"Honestly," I look up into his eyes. They're calm yet destructive. Glazed with many layers, it'simpossible to know what he's thinking. "I promised you the states and I tend to fulfill that promise, so I think you should fight for what you want."
Small dimples form on the ends of his lips as Kai smiles. Taking that as my signal, I get up to go on the balcony and get some air.
Once I'm out, I look down at the busy streets. Street lamps, car lights and building lights brighten the night. I close my eyes and feel the cold breeze pass by, blowing my hair.
When I open my eyes, the cold wind is replaced my a warm presence. I feel a hot breath on the back of my neck. Climbing its way up, Kai's mouth stops at my ear.
"You did good today, Verano. School starts Monday, get some rest," his lips remain on my ear. He's thinking something. "I'm sorry, for yesterday and today."
One blink of the eye and he disappears.
He gave me something he's never given to anyone, an apology.
A/N:
Ivy: Did ya like it? Let me know by commenting or even as easy as voting!
I'm trying to update as much as possible, but know that I'm working full time. It get's hard to find time to write sometimes especially when you suffer from a lot of writers block.